Postcard From Paris
by brooke-ella1990
Summary: Rachel Hudson  nee Berry  is in a modified version of RENT, considering having a baby with Finn, when she gets life-altering news from her ex-boyfriend.  Originally was going to be a one-shot, but turned into a larger project.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first attempt at St. Berry fanfiction. don't worry, I am not lost, with having Rachel & Finn be married. things will change with that :) if you are not familiar with _"Postcard From Paris" _by The Band Perry. I recommend it. Also, I hope that there isn't too much of a kerfuffle with the Rent changes, at some point the theater will take a backseat, because I'm not too comfortable fiddling around with Rent._ (_if it ain't broke, don't fix it)_._ This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but i figured out how to tie it into something else i was working on (another St. Berry story) and this one refused to work the way i wanted it too._  
><em>Rated: T (rating may change)  
>Do not own Glee or Rent. No profit is being made.<em><br>_

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><p><em>You're like a postcard from Paris, when I've seen the real thing.<em>

Rachel Hudson (née Berry) was getting out of rehearsal for the _Rent _revival where she was playing Joanne. She was very much like her straight laced serious character, although a new twist on the character was that Rachel was white, Joanne was usually played by an African-American actress, but the director was really looking to put his own spin on the show, so the ethnicities of Maureen and Joanne had been swapped. There weren't really any other significant differences. But Rachel was thrilled to be playing Joanne, while it wasn't exactly the character she desired, she had auditioned for Maureen, but while auditioning, the pianist had accidentally skipped a verse, and Rachel had demanded that he go back, and that she be allowed to start over. Normally such audacity wouldn't be tolerated, but Rachel supposes that Andrew, her director and the casting people were having a good day when she auditioned, and consequently gave her a character similar to her regular personality. The huge difference between her and Joanne was the sexuality. Rachel was not a lesbian, and she was having more difficulty acting the part than she had planned. She hated being bad at something (especially acting), and being reprimanded vehemently by the director on the 2nd day of rehearsals was humiliating, and all Rachel wanted to do was have a large gin and tonic and spend some time with her husband, Finn.

The director had some notes for her and the actress playing Maureen, a lovely woman with named Ashleigh, who was really the most striking woman Rachel had met so far, she had an elegance that reminded her of Quinn Fabray, but her coloring was much different, Ashleigh was darker, more ethnic. Her hair was clipped into a pixie style, and from close up examination, showed the signs of an inexperienced stylist and brown eyes. They were too tense with each other, Andrew told them, he wanted them to spend more time together and really figure out something to make their on-stage relationship pop and make the emotions seem genuine.

The two women were taking off their stage makeup in the large bathroom. "Ashleigh, can we get together and practice out of rehearsal?" she asked, "I mean, only if you want to, but I think it would be helpful to both of us. And Andrew wouldn't complain so much. I mean this needs to go well! I need this show to go well so that I can progress further in my career!" Rachel was babbling, Ashleigh took a finger and placed it on Rachel's lips.

"Yes of course, lady" Ashleigh laughed good naturedly. "I'm meeting Finn for a late dinner, you and Joe want to come with?" Rachel asks. "It would let us spend some quality time and then I figure that everything will come easier after that."

"For sure," Ashleigh tells her, "let me see if Jo wants to." her co-star pulls a cell phone from her pocket and calls her boyfriend. A couple minutes later, Joe has agreed to meet Rachel and Ashleigh at the restaurant.

Rachel shoots a text to Finn to let him know that she is on the way to the restaurant and she is bringing a co-star and her boyfriend along.

At the restaurant, they sit at the bar, because Rachel knows Finn will want to keep tabs on the game. She thinks its football season, although it might be baseball. She has tried to be interested in sports for years, but Rachel just can't summon up the care to think about football. Plus, she finds baseball to be mind-numbingly boring. Rachel and Ashleigh are sitting at the bar. Rachel has a gin and tonic, Ashleigh is drinking a beer. Finn arrives, Rachel introduces him to Ashleigh, who smiles.

"Jo is running late, like always." Ashleigh laughs.

They begin to chat politely. Ashleigh asks Finn what he does for work, Finn answers with a convoluted story about freelance sports photography, and a desire to coach a high school team or something. They are interrupted by a woman with green eyes and black curly hair that is mussed from a long run. "Hey baby," she says. Ashleigh stands and gives the woman a kiss. "Rachel, this is Jo." At Rachel's aghast expression, Ashleigh adds "short for Josephine. Sorry I didn't tell you. I wasn't sure how you would react."

"Ashleigh, two things, I'm playing Joanne - one of the most well known lesbian characters in the theater world! And I have two gay dads." Rachel laughs. "Jo, its so good to meet you! This is my husband Finn."

"Nice to meet you." Finn says politely. Then he looks at his wife, "Oh Rachel, Kurt called me today, he and Blaine say hello. They also want to know when your show is opening, they want to come to the first night."

"Oh, opening night is August 15th." Jo pipes up, cheerily. Rachel agrees, smiling at Jo. "Ok, I'll pass that back to Kurt." Finn says, while looking at his phone.

"I'll do it. I haven't talked to Kurt in ages. I miss him." Kurt and Blaine are in London, while Kurt performs on the West End circuit.

A few drinks, some food and a few too many zany stories later, the couples are parting as though they have known each other forever. "See you tomorrow, Ashleigh. It was so good to meet you, Jo!" Rachel gushes. She's had a little too much to drink. Finn practically has to carry Rachel back to their apartment.

Once they are inside, Rachel kicks off her jeans and climbs into their bed.

"We've been married for a few years now, have we ever talked about babies? I saw one on the way home from the bar." Rachel says smiling, and slurring a little bit.

"No, we haven't, you've said that you want to be an established Broadway actress first, and then we would consider kids." Finn replies hesitantly, he does want kids, maybe? Although they are only twenty-five years old, occasionally Finn still likes to go out and have fun, he's not sure if kids would be a good idea right away.

"Well, I'm playing JOANNE, in a vaguely shitty off-Broadway theater, but it's a start! So, I was thinking that maybe we should have one!" Rachel says.

"Rach, I would love to have a baby, but I think maybe we should talk about this later, when you're less drunk." Finn says, mildly. But Rachel, the determined girl with an idea, that wouldn't let go easily, after all, she had spent a solid year trying to get him back, their junior year, Rachel was stubborn. And she had just now decided she wanted to talk about having kids. "Yes, yes, we will talk tomorrow!" Rachel agrees with that, and she stretches her arms out over her head, feels the mattress sag under Finn's added weight, and drifts off to sleep.

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><p><strong>please review! let me know if you want me to continue! :) <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Hi there! This is my next chapter :) Hope you all like it. Took stuff from "New York" and edited it to my liking.  
>Do not own Glee. Not making a profit. (If I did, it would be St. Berry all the way baby!)<p>

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><p>The next morning, Rachel wakes up with a dry mouth and what felt like the worst hangover she'd ever had. Blinking hurt, and she wasn't even looking at the window with the curtains, which she and Finn had forgotten to draw closed, so unless it was cloudy, Rachel wasn't going to like the result of lifting her head from her pillow. Beside her, Finn snores loudly. Oh dear god, this was awful. Rachel tries to wake him up, but to no results, Finn is nearly impossible to wake up. He snores again.<p>

Unable to take any more of the snoring, she gingerly climbs out of bed, as to not make her head hurt more. Once she is in the kitchen, she retrieves a bottle of fruit smoothie and takes a big sip. One of the hangover "cures" she's picked up since she started drinking is to have a lot of fruit, and she also makes pancakes. She nurses the smoothie and has started to gather the ingredients for making pancakes. Fortunately, the recipe she had was simple, and it was vegan. The recipe was simpler than the non-vegan pancakes Finn's step dad used to make whenever they were in town.

Rachel had been a vegan since she was a teenager, she had lapsed when she had eaten pepperoni pizza at a bowling alley around when she and Finn had first met. Not wanting to seem more high-maintenance than strictly necessary, she folded her ethics for the night, and had suffered the consequences later on - lactose intolerance plus meat intolerance. Forget this hangover - that was the _worst _she'd ever felt in her life (emotional pain aside).

However, being a vegan in New York was much easier than being one in Lima, Ohio. Most people Rachel had encountered in Lima didn't know what veganism even meant. However, not to slam all of Lima, there had been some kickass places. Breadstix had vegan meatballs, sometimes, since it wasn't a large seller, it wasn't a high priority to order the ingredients. Anyway, while making her pancakes, Rachel's mind drifted to Finn, as it usually did, when making her vegan goodies.

One thing that had always nagged her was that Finn while mildly accepting of her veganism, refused to convert or give up meat of any kind. She wasn't pushing him to become a full vegan like her. He didn't budge on his ways, whenever they went to a restaurant, he would resolutely order a hamburger with extra cheese. His eating habits disgusted her, since she was an actress, she acted like it didn't bother her. Although, occasionally the act would crack and she would show her disdain, and they would fight, which consequently unburied all sorts of other issues they'd had in the past. It was unpleasant to say the least. When they would invariably make up, the figurative shovel would reappear and re-bury the past.

Another thing that popped into her head was her behavior and the things she had been saying last night. She hoped beyond hope that Finn hadn't gotten too excited about her sudden want for a baby. Rachel was thinking, she couldn't really remember how Finn reacted at all, she had been in her head, envisioning a future with a toddler that was the perfect mix of her and Finn, light brown hair, her olive skin, and the Jewish nose. Many people thought of the Jewish nose as a flaw, but Rachel happened to think it brought character to the face, look at Barbra Streisand, and on the opposite side was Jennifer Grey - who got a nose job and looked like every other actress on the planet. Anyway, a slight tangent aside. Rachel was definitely not ready for a kid of her own. At age twenty-five she was just starting out in the path she wanted, and having a child right now would only have negative repercussions.

After she has finished making the first pancakes, Finn wanders out of their bedroom stretching. "Morning, Rach." he yawns. He grabs a pancake on the way to the fridge, folds it and eats it while inspecting the refrigerator's contents. Finn settles on some orange juice. He grabs a glass and pours some of the juice. "Pancakes are excellent this morning, baby." he says. He come over to her and wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her neck.

"Good morning, Finn!" she says, smiling. Ah, how could she stay irritated at him. She did love him more than words could describe.

"I wanna talk about something I said last night…" Rachel says to him. Finn lets go of her and goes to stand on the other side of the counter, so that now he is facing his wife, ready for a rational discussion. He waits for her to start.

"I know that last night, I was making a big deal of having a baby right now, and all that, but I have reconsidered. I don't want to have a baby right now. I think that it is the more logical choice, neither of us have reached a good solid point in our careers, and we aren't financially stable, I mean I'm an actress, and a waitress. You are a freelance photographer, which is very profitable, but not consistent. Having a baby would only jeopardize our efforts." Rachel is talking, she has gone off, but not before she notices that Finn isn't really paying attention to her. "Finn, what do you think? Are you upset?" she asks, while flipping a pancake with a spatula.

"Well, I agree, I don't think it would work right away, but I am kind of bummed we don't get to try and make one." He smiles suggestively.

Rachel laughs, "we can rehearse anytime" she winks. "Want to do something now? I woke up earlier than I planned, so I have some time before Rent rehearsal today. And then I'm covering a shift at the restaurant after, so I'll be home late tonight."

"I have some stuff to do, I have an interview this afternoon for a coaching gig in Jersey, so I want to prepare." Finn says, genuinely excited. "Wake me up when you get home." he adds, as an afterthought. He takes a couple more pancakes that Rachel has finished while they were talking, grabs some maple syrup and goes to sit on the couch.

"Have you seen the remote?"

"Nope." Rachel replies, she isn't even thinking about it. She's busy scraping the rest of the batter onto the griddle to finish the task.

"Can you help me look?" Finn asks. Meanwhile, he is kind of looking, but not putting much effort in. He sits on the couch and eats pancakes.

"Are you serious? I'm busy! I'm finishing breakfast!" Rachel yells. _Ouch, _she winces and rubs her forehead.

"God, Rachel it was a simple request! Not a demand!" he said loudly, although now he's cross.

"God, it's right there! On the side table? Did you even look?" Rachel says, she's not entirely sure where all this discontentment is coming from all of a sudden.

"You know what, don't wake me up when you get home!"

"Great!" Rachel snaps. She isn't even hungry anymore. Turning off the griddle, she leaves the kitchen and goes into the bathroom to take a shower. She can meet up with somebody before rehearsal. She just needs to get out of the house.

She wishes Kurt was in New York, she could use an ally. Somebody that knows how obnoxious Finn could be sometimes.

Quinn Fabray would know, but Rachel isn't really on speaking terms with Quinn anymore. They lost touch after high school, and then getting married to Finn. Although, Quinn and Puck had recently gotten engaged, so she was sure that it would be fine. But Rachel didn't really want to talk to Quinn anyway. She hadn't really kept in touch with any of her other New Directions friends, occasionally she exchanged emails with Mercedes and Tina, respectively.

Jesse? Wow, she hasn't thought about Jesse St. James in ages. Once she and Finn had gotten married, she had put all her effort into not thinking of him, and his cocky attitude. And, ok, it always felt better to pretend that Jesse had never existed because the pain of the first time he had left, eggs and all, still stung a little bit. A stinging that had subsided when he had returned the following year, claiming remorse and aiming to win her back. Also, he had taken her to prom her junior year when she was just going to go with Mercedes and Sam. They had had fun, until Finn had ruined it.

Couldn't he have left them well enough alone. Memories of junior year flooded back, and she was struck with the agony of seeing Finn and Quinn be happy and dating, unintentionally throwing it in Rachel's face. How Finn couldn't have been inclined to notice her until he had gotten wind of Jesse's return to Ohio. Then suddenly, he was in love with her again.

Begging for her back, even after she politely resisted. Nationals had been a fiasco. She had asked Jesse not to attend, because she didn't want to be distracted by anything in the pursuit of her goal to win. She wanted to be in the number one show choir in the country! However, Finn had written "Pretending" and he had kissed her as a conclusion to the number. As they shared the kiss on stage, she could feel the chances for victory that they had worked so hard for crashing down around them. And the other half of her felt such an intense joy at Finn's love for her, that she couldn't stop. And then, another thought, that she was glad that Jesse wasn't here for this indiscretion - they had been sort of seeing each other again after all.

As the rest of New Directions segued into "Light Up the World" Rachel had tried to keep her cool, her show face in place. They had exited and were standing in the lobby. 

_"Well that kiss was interesting…" _She had said to Finn.

"_Yeah, I'm calling it the kiss of the century…" _he had begun to reply when a voice behind her made her heart drop. Oh, fuck.

Jesse strolled up behind them and was only confirming what Rachel's gut had been telling her since the utter silence from the audience during the kiss.

_"Why are you here, Jesse?" _

"_For you." _He had replied so simply, usually he was big on eloquent speeches and all that. And somehow her heart swelled with love and broke at the same time, knowing that she would have to choose between the boy who understood her dreams and ambitions, and had similar ones. A boy who could debate the differences of Len Cariou and Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd (besides the fact that one was a movie actor), the one who made her think and challenge herself to be better!

And then there was Finn. Who she had loved, wholeheartedly. Even if they didn't share many common interests, even if he had broken her heart more times than she liked to admit. This was what she had been fighting for the better part of a year and she had to do this. She loved Finn. So, she chose him.

The fight between her and Jesse afterwards had been intense, full of yelling and tears. Tears on her part, yelling mostly on his. Rachel swore that Jesse had shed some of his own, when she had run into him in the airport on the way home.

After they returned to Lima, Jesse had returned to Akron, and Rachel wasn't sure what he did after that. However, she didn't see Jesse around ever. And she was glad, mostly, because when he wasn't around, it was easier not to think of Nationals and that kiss and the way Rachel felt when Jesse looked at her. Also, her and Finn were an item afterwards, any encounters would have just been too uncomfortable.

Rachel stood in the shower, thinking of all these things, she cried, over the choices she had made and things that she hadn't said. When Finn knocked on the bathroom door, "Are you almost done? I gotta use the bathroom."

"Yeah, almost. Out in a second!" she shouted. She quickly finished up, and got out of the shower. Wrapping her hair in a towel and wearing a bathrobe she left the bathroom.

"Hey, you ok? Your eyes are all red."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just got some shampoo in my eyes." Rachel lied. Finn kissed her forehead and believed the lie.

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><p>Ta-Dah! the appearance of Jesse, though only in memory. His perspective is coming up very soon. Also, i believe this is the quickest I've ever updated a story :)<br>Please review!


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